The Direct Payment Guinea Pigs

In October the government will begin paying benefit direct to social housing tenants. Inside Housing examines the results of six pilot projects, which have been testing the new system since June, to find out what landlords can expect. Some tenants chose not to respond to attempts to engage them in the project. Unlike the real thing, tenants can choose to not take part. The most pressing question is to what degree arrears are rising among tenants who are taking part.  In Wales, 435 ‘lower risk’ tenants, who were deemed to be able to cope more easily and who moved across at the outset, initially had total arrears of £21,457. After six months the total for these tenants increased to between £83,000 and £116,000 depending on the time of month. Wakefield District Housing’s rent collection rate for 1,000 tenants is just 89 per cent and 100 notices seeking possession have been served to tenants on the project since it started. Edinburgh-based housing association Dunedin Canmore reports that its arrears have almost doubled to 6 per cent. Read more on Inside Housing.